Link Centre Dictionary

pretense

pre·tense

UK/ˈpɹiːtɛns/ US/priˈtɛns/ uncommon obsolete

noun

1.

the act of giving a false appearance

  • “his conformity was only pretending”
Synonyms
2.
3.
4.
5.

an artful or simulated semblance

  • “under the guise of friendship he betrayed them”
Synonyms

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French pretensse, from Late Latin praetēnsus, past participle of Latin praetendō (“to pretend”), from prae- (“before”) + tendō (“to stretch”); see pretend.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.